First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $263.15 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,810,817 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,737 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $263,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,300,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 43.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,082 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,603,000 after purchasing an additional 325,293 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 11.5% in the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 2,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 32,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,183 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

ROST stock opened at $150.73 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.